Five Arab Israelis, including a three-year-old, were attacked and their car was set on fire Friday after they accidentally drove into an illegal West Bank outpost.
The incident occurred at Givat Ronen, a small hilltop outpost in the northern West Bank near the village of Burin, an area that has seen repeated clashes between extremist settlers and Palestinians. Israeli settlers are suspected of carrying out the attack.
The car was carrying four women as well as a three-year-old girl, according to Hebrew media reports.
According to Kan news, the five are Bedouin residents of the Arab town of Rahat in southern Israel and were on their way to the Palestinian city of Nablus.
Two of the passengers were injured in their heads and hands by stones thrown at them. They fled on foot and managed to make it to Israeli troops, who treated them.
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“Two of the travelers in the car were injured and Israeli troops gave them first aid at the scene and they were later taken to a hospital for treatment,” police said in a statement.
The five were taken to Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
ערביות ישראליות טעו בדרך – והותקפו בידי מתנחלים: רכבן הוצת ונרגם באבנים, הן נמלטו ופונו לקבלת טיפול רפואי בבית החולים
הכתבה המלאה | https://t.co/kUwMWFGd6S pic.twitter.com/3xBv0KRGGU
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) August 9, 2024
Police said an investigation was launched. “The Israel Police views any attack on innocent civilians very gravely. Police will use all means at its disposal to bring the suspects to justice,” it said.
Nufah al-Jaer, one of the woman who was attacked, told Haaretz their navigation app had led them astray.
“We accidentally went into some place and then people started running after the car, throwing rocks,” she said. “After they broke all the windows they sprayed tear gas.”
She said one of the attackers put his gun to the toddler’s head and ordered them to get out of the car.
“We told them we were Israeli citizens, that we hadn’t done anything, that we’d just been confused by the Waze [app]. They didn’t even listen.”
Nufah said their attackers fled when a military vehicle approached.
“It’s cruelty, heartless people. What did we do? We saw death before our eyes. They wanted to kill us,” she told Ynet.
Relative Khaled al-Jaer told the outlet the attack “could have ended in disaster… I hope security forces, the Shin Bet and police, catch the criminals. I hope they do a thorough job.
“They came to women, to a three-year-old and hit them with rocks in their car. Then they chased those who ran, threatened with guns. It was very dangerous. They need to be dealt with and put behind bars.”
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